Segovia

Segovia is a landlocked city on the high plateau of Castile, and the coast is a long day's drive away. In summer, locals cool off in hotel and municipal pools or in the chilly reservoirs and river pools of the Guadarrama foothills. None of this makes a beach vacation. If swimming matters, plan it for another part of the trip.

Many people come to Segovia to eat as well as to look. Its signature is cochinillo, suckling pig roasted in wood-fired ovens until the skin is crisp enough to cut with the edge of a plate. Lechazo, roast milk-fed lamb, comes a close second. Around these are the big white judiones beans of nearby La Granja, cooked slowly with chorizo, sopa castellana and ponche segoviano, a layered marzipan-topped cake.

Beyond the roasts the range is narrow. The asadores near the aqueduct and Plaza Mayor feed coachloads at lunchtime, and the better meals are often in the side streets. Ribera del Duero and Rueda wines are close by and poured everywhere, and an evening tapas round with a glass works well. International cooking and fine dining are thin.

Segovia packs a remarkable amount into a narrow rocky ridge. The Roman aqueduct crosses Plaza del Azoguejo on more than a hundred and sixty granite arches built without mortar, one of the best-preserved Roman structures anywhere. From there the old town, a UNESCO site together with the aqueduct, climbs to the late Gothic cathedral and on to the Alcázar. This fortress-palace sits on the tip of the ridge above two rivers, with royal halls and a tower to climb.

Between them stand an unusual number of Romanesque churches with arcaded porches, such as San Martín and San Millán. There is also the medieval Jewish quarter, the walls and the twelve-sided Vera Cruz church just outside town. The museums are modest. Most visitors have seen the essentials in a full day and enjoy a second at a slower pace.

Evenings in Segovia mean a tapas crawl around Plaza Mayor and the streets running off it, with terraces full on summer nights. A university population adds a handful of later bars at weekends, but there is little in the way of clubs. On weeknights, and in the cold months, the old town goes quiet fairly early. For a proper Spanish late night, Madrid is the place.

Segovia sits at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama, and the mountains fill the view from the Alcázar ramparts. Within half an hour are the Scots pine forests of Valsaín and the high passes of Navacerrada and Cotos. From the passes, trails climb towards Peñalara, the highest peak at 2,428m, with its glacial lakes, and the ridge called La Mujer Muerta. There is snow in winter and good walking from spring to autumn.

Closer in, an easy path follows the Eresma valley below the old town, with classic views up to the Alcázar. Further out, the Hoces del Duratón gorge has griffon vultures and canoeing on the river. Summers are dry and winters are sharp.

Segovia makes a strong base for exploring the heart of Spain. The royal palace and fountain gardens of La Granja de San Ildefonso are twenty minutes away, with the quieter Riofrío palace nearby. High-speed trains reach Madrid in under half an hour and Valladolid in not much more. The walled city of Ávila is about an hour by bus or car.

With a car, the list grows. The medieval walled villages of Pedraza and Sepúlveda are each under an hour away. El Escorial monastery lies across the mountains, and Ribera del Duero wine country and Peñafiel castle make a fuller day out. Salamanca and Toledo are on the edge of a long day.

Children tend to love the Alcázar, a turreted castle on a cliff with a tower to climb, and the giant stone arches of the aqueduct. The old town is compact and safe, and Spanish tables are welcoming to families late into the evening. Beyond that there is little made for children: no zoo, aquarium or theme park. The cobbled streets climb steeply, which is hard going with a pushchair. A day or two works well with children, and the palace gardens at La Granja give them space to run.

The sights all lie along one narrow ridge, from the aqueduct to the Alcázar, so on foot you can cover everything in a morning. The streets are cobbled and steep in places. Local buses connect the aqueduct with the newer town and with the high-speed station, which sits several kilometres outside the centre, about fifteen minutes away. Buses also run to La Granja and Madrid. Pedraza, Sepúlveda and the mountain trailheads are much easier with a car.

Shopping in Segovia means souvenirs along Calle Real, plus a few shops selling local ceramics, embroidery and boxed ponche segoviano or La Granja beans to take home. The everyday shops and weekly market are in the newer town. There is nothing here for fashion or design, and serious shopping means a trip to Madrid.

Hotel rooms in Segovia are moderately priced, with plenty of small family-run hotels and guesthouses at a modest level. The tapas bars and lunch menus of the newer town are fair value. The famous roast suckling pig and lamb are a more expensive meal, especially in the well-known dining rooms by the aqueduct. Rooms in the old town cost more at weekends and in summer, when visitors from Madrid arrive. Midweek and in winter, Segovia is an inexpensive place to stay.

Segovia's live arts come mainly through its festivals. Titirimundi, a well-loved international puppet festival, fills squares and courtyards in spring. A long-running summer music festival brings concerts to churches and palace gardens, and an autumn literary festival rounds out the year. Teatro Juan Bravo on Plaza Mayor hosts touring theatre and concerts. Outside these seasons there is little on, and opera or a big night of music means heading to Madrid.

Segovia has no thermal baths or bathing tradition, and spa options are limited to a handful of hotels. Its restorative side is the pace. When the coaches leave in the late afternoon, the old town becomes quiet and slow. Long lunches, evening walks along the walls and pine-scented air from the sierra make it a gentle place to stay, but nobody comes here for spa treatments.